The “Alaskan Buddies” Painting Series

I just completed two new oil paintings on canvas to add to my “Alaska Buddies” series. The Buddies are four Alaskan animals: moose, bear, eagle, and Husky dog, who are friends that go out and do Alaskan things like fat biking, skiing, and racing Mt. Marathon. A lot of artists have created something similar, but I feel these four animals really say, “this is Alaska.” My Alaskan art concepts date back to my days working as a production artist at Arctic Circle Enterprises, where I designed Alaskan products. Mitchell Godfred (my boss) would chant, “bear, moose, eagle, tree, mountain.” These were the acceptable themes that he deemed “sold well” on Alaskan merchandise. A.C.E products were not just for tourists. I remember people wearing A.C.E. gear to high school; it was pretty popular among Alaskans in college too. The product line from A.C.E. was cheap, good quality, and overall well designed. This is thanks to a great art team led by Mitchell Godfred, Lorraine Wyles, Jason Reynolds, Pam Clifton, and lastly myself. I didn’t get to illustrate much, being a 23-year-old production artist at the time, but I learned a lot, and my time at A.C.E. had a lasting effect on my art career. When I thought of painting anthropomorphic Alaskan animals, I remembered the art from that time and the other artists’ styles there.

Bike to Work Day

My animals are different from anything A.C.E. did. I started painting anthropomorphic Alaskan animals when I got to design a beer label for Midnight Sun Brewing Co. about 9 years ago. The beer was called “Feast,” and I got to brew it with the Chef and the brew team at the brewery. Chef Chris wanted to have a bunch of Alaskan animals sitting down at a Thanksgiving-esque feast. Later I made many other paintings featuring various animals drinking beers, riding bikes, and hitting the slopes. But I really wanted this series of paintings to scream Alaska, so I simplified the herd to the four animals in “The Buddies” clique. The newest paintings are “Fat-biking Buddies in McCarthy” and “Mt Marathon Racing Buddies.” I hope you find them enjoyable and slightly comical. I put the moose in the lead of the Mt. Marathon race because it seemed like it was the fastest of the four. Why doesn’t the eagle just fly? Well, because then he wouldn’t be a “buddy”. Stay tuned for more “Buddies” paintings in the future.

Feast

Mt Marathon Racing Buddies

Ski Buddies

I will be vending at an event tomorrow called the Alaska Summer Showcase at the Dena’ina Center. It is an Alaskan travel show put on by local celebrity travel writer, Scott McMurren. If you haven’t heard of him, look him up. He will help you find great deals on travel in and out of Alaska. There will be $25,000+ in travel prizes! Many Alaskan travel companies will be there to help you jump-start your summer by offering show-only specials. There will be food trucks out front and live music by Todd Grebe and Cold Country. They will even drive a brand new EV Chevy Silverado into the Dena’ina Center for your amusement. $10 admission gets you in and allows you to participate in all the giveaways. I will offer a chance to win a free art print at my booth. I hope to see you there!

On April’s First Friday, 4/5, from 5-7pm, I will return to Alaska Cycle Chic with the Fat Biking Buddies painting and another group of cycle-related wall art. The Jake Legs will provide live music while you sip and shop. If you haven’t been to an Alaska Cycle Chic FF, I highly recommend attending; it is always a fun event! It is in midtown, across from Dos Manos gallery, so you will be able to find parking nearby! I hope to see you there!

Fat Biking Buddies

Winter Cabin Time in Wrangell – St. Elias National Park, Alaska

Last week Maria and I went out to McCarthy to enjoy a getaway at our cabin. We often refer to our little house in the woods as our Camp David. It’s a place for the Executive Branch of our household, Maria and I, to escape the daily routine. March is spring in some places, but it is definitely winter in Alaska. When we leave the cabin in the fall, we set it to “winter mode”, we don’t shut it down for the winter.

The winterized cabin is a bit different from the summer version. In summer, we have a rainwater collection system, a hot shower, a French drain, pump-driven running water in the kitchen, and we can drive all the way to our front door. In winter, we have a nice snow trail. We used to ski in and carry all our gear, including all the food and water we would need while staying at the cabin. Now we bring our Ski-Doo and easily transport our stuff and water up the hill on the trail to our front door. We park the truck three miles away at the foot bridge, where road maintenance ends, and where we can find parking.

The water systems are all “winterized,” meaning they are filled with RV antifreeze. We still have running water though, but it’s a bucket-to-bucket system. Nice enough to wash our hands, but not quite like pumped water from our 300-gallon summer system. We have to dump the slop bucket that’s under the sink drain. It’s always a good idea to do that when it is only half full. The shower hoses are also filled with RV antifreeze, so that is out. Instead, we use a big Rubbermaid tub, and heat water with a teapot, for a quick pour-over bath, which we may do once or twice during our stay.

In the summer, I may burn wood in the stove once every few days during the shoulder seasons. In winter, we get in and fire the stove up right away, and for three days, we don’t let it go out. It was -26F outside when we woke up on the first morning; the ambient air temperature inside the cabin was about 55F. Until it hits 70F inside, I keep the fire cranking. On day three, the cabin logs were warmed, and I let the fire go out for up to four hours before it dropped below 60F inside. I have a lot of wood, since the 10 acres are densely wooded, but I figure the amount I have stockpiled is good for about two months. 

The solar panels work in winter, and I even turned on the refrigerator when the house warmed up. Electric lights are a major bonus during winter; a few years ago we used candles and flashlights. Evening time is now a joy, and we play games and even watch movies! I like winter; it is peaceful. Hearing a loud plane overhead is rare, and the quantity of people is maybe 10% of the summer crew. In summer, you can hear the buzz of McCarthy even though we live 2 miles from town. In winter, the birds and the fan from the woodstove are all we can hear.

In summer, the Kennicott Glacier is brown, and the Root Glacier, Gates Glacier, and Mt. Blackburn stand out, glowing white and blue. In winter, everything is coated white with snow. Porphyry Peak and Bonanza Ridge look phenomenal! But the snow diminishes the grandeur of the 5,000ft icefall. The area is gorgeous, but different.

I am always slightly worried the whole time I am in McCarthy in the winter. So many things could go wrong. Injury, fire, blizzards, and other unknowns that in the summer would be bad, but wouldn’t jeopardize life. I feel like I need to leave a change of clothes in the woodshed in case I have to leave the cabin in a hurry. I already leave the key to the snowmachine in the ignition, in case of an emergency.  

Blizzards can be disconcerting since the road only gets plowed when the airstrip is not usable, meaning there could be a week or two when the road is basically impassable. Or I worry about a meltdown. There is a thing on the McCarthy Road called road glaciers, which is when a culvert freezes up, and the excess water pours over the road and freezes, sometimes being feet deep of ice. If it warms up, it becomes slushy and unstable, which can cause difficulty in traversing. I have heard about people getting stuck for hours or sliding to the edge of the road and flipping their rig! I have tire chains for such situations, but I hate using tire chains because they’re hard on the tires and wheel wells! 

We didn’t have a blizzard or meltdown this time, thankfully! And we drove in and out basically easier than in the summer. The ice road can be amazing when you have good luck. And we had an amazing time! We went to Kennecott, XC skied all over the glacial lakes, drove the snowmachine on three different rivers, and basically had a blast! I can’t recommend visiting McCarthy in the winter due to all the things I mentioned above, and I’ve pulled the plug on trips when I knew I would be driving in a blizzard. But it’s really fun if all the stars align and a winter trip happens. Did I mention how beautiful the stars are in the winter? I saw some faint Aurora, but the Milky Way and the constellations are spectacular without any light contamination.

I am glad to be back and working on new paintings in the Anchorage studio. Enjoy these longer days and get out before the snow all melts down! 

Shipping a Large Painting from Alaska to Washington

~ by Maria Benner

We sold an oil painting on canvas to a couple that lives in Bellingham, WA, and the painting needed to be shipped there from Anchorage, AK. The problem was that the painting is 5ft x 4ft, and when Scott packaged it, the combined dimensions were just 4″ over the maximum size allowed by USPS, FedEx and UPS. So, we had to get quotes from other shippers like Matson, SpanAlaska, Lynden, etc. Again, there was a problem. They all asked what we wanted to ship, and then told us that they don’t ship original art. Okaaay, so we had to do more research. I checked with Alaska Airlines Cargo, and they don’t care if it’s an original oil painting, but then there was another problem. We could send the painting on a cargo plane to Seattle for a very reasonable rate, but in order for it to fly to Bellingham, we would need to apply for Known Shipper status with TSA, because that’s what you have to do in order to put cargo on a flight that also has passengers. This process would take a couple weeks, so we contacted our customers to tell them about the delay, and she told us that her uncle works for Alaska Airlines, and may agree to sign off on the shipment. Well, her uncle wasn’t very responsive. Probably because he was busy dealing with the Boeing Max 9 situation.

So, two weeks went by and we didn’t hear anything from TSA. Not being one to sit around and wait patiently, I started inquiring about our status. You cannot apply for Known Shipper status directly, a cargo carrier has to do it for you. We applied online through the Alaska Airlines Cargo website. TSA replied that they don’t talk to shippers directly, so I e-mailed Alaska Airlines, and they said TSA doesn’t tell them anything. About an hour later, we received an e-mail letting us know that our application had been approved! This was on Friday morning, and we still had time to mail the painting that afternoon. But nooooo, that would have been too easy.

Turns out we then had to create an account as a shipper with Alaska Airlines Cargo. Sounds easy enough, but after submitting the application online, we had to wait for it to be approved for several hours. So, we’d have to wait until Monday to mail the painting. Then I had to set up my username and password. There were problems with that too, because Alaska Airlines had just gotten a new computer system, and it was experiencing some glitches. After several e-mails back and forth with a cargo rep, I finally received the link to reset my password!

Finally, we could create the shipment online! But, for some reason we kept getting an error. The first customer service rep we called couldn’t figure out the problem and submitted a ticket for someone higher up the chain to help. We didn’t hear back for a couple hours, and as I mentioned earlier, I’m not the type to sit around and wait, so we called back, and this time the customer service rep figured out that the problem is that the plane from Seattle to Bellingham is not big enough to carry the painting! Turns out we didn’t have to wait two weeks to receive Known Shipper status after-all! I suppose it’s nice to have for future shipments though. So we called our customer and she was kind enough to agree to drive her truck to Seattle to pick up the painting.

We took the huge box to Alaska Airlines Cargo and made sure they put several “Fragile” stickers on it. We insured it for full value, crossed our fingers, and hoped for the best.

There is a tracking feature on the Alaska Airlines Cargo website, and we were able to track the painting’s every move. As I was checking its status the next day, I saw that it had been picked up by the customer, and then my phone rang. It was the customer service rep from Alaska Airlines calling to let me know the painting had been picked up. He said he had also been tracking it, and that this was the smoothest shipment he’s every seen. Our customer picked up the painting just a few minutes after it was unloaded.

We still couldn’t completely relax, because we didn’t know if the painting arrived in perfect condition. Our customers didn’t want to open it until the next day when they had more time. The next afternoon Scott received a text with a picture of the painting hanging in its intended place, above the fireplace where it fit absolutely perfectly. It arrived in perfect condition! We were all so happy! Thank you Alaska Airlines Cargo!

The original oil painting hanging in its new home! Canvas and paper prints in various sizes are available at our Etsy shop.

Celebrate Doghouse Day: Stick It to the Man and Score Valentine’s Deals on the 15th!

Happy Doghouse Day! You might be wondering what that means. Well, it’s a new holiday I invented last year that encourages “sticking it to the man”! If you’re tired of holidays driven by Hallmark profits, then join me in celebrating Doghouse Day. Here’s the concept: imagine you’re super relaxed in your relationship, so relaxed that you forgot to get anything for Valentine’s Day for your sweetheart. Valentine’s Day might have been a letdown, but here’s the good news – all the treats that were overpriced on the 14th are now heavily discounted. You actually are rewarded monetarily for your laziness!

I coined the term when I was randomly buying flowers at our local grocery store, and the gentleman in line behind me asked, “In the doghouse, huh?” He meant I must have done something to irritate my significant other, and now I was trying to buy my way back into her good graces with a dozen roses. Ironically, I wasn’t in the “doghouse”; I was just buying flowers because I like having cut roses at home, and so does my wife and partner, Maria. It was a surprise, not a makeup bribe.

Now, back to the subject of this new holiday celebrated on February 15th. I propose that we all “stick it to the man” and rebel against holiday-themed items on the actual day, but buy them at a discount on the 15th instead. Today is the 15th, and to celebrate, I bought a large supply of chocolate at 50% off! I would have bought roses too, but since they were at a different store, I didn’t get around to it. The concept isn’t about being in the doghouse — avoid that at all costs! It’s more of a tongue-in-cheek term. Don’t mess up your relationship, but I suggest buying something not labeled Valentine’s Day for the actual holiday – a quart of your partner’s favorite ice cream or some other non-holiday-specific treat.

Yesterday, we went to a nice dinner to celebrate Valentine’s Day, but it wasn’t marked up like roses. Definitely don’t buy roses on the 14th, but do buy them on the 15th! I think you get it. Let’s all be counter-culturalists by celebrating Doghouse Day on the 15th of February!

Chill Out in Style: What to Wear to the Great Alaska Craft Brew and Barley Wine Festival in Anchorage

It’s time for the Great Alaska Craft Brew and Barleywine festival here in Anchorage, Alaska!  This annual event happens in the dead of winter every year. Well…every year, unless we happen to be having a pandemic.  In our defense, even the Germans cancelled Oktoberfest that year. Fortunately, now that the ‘Ronassance is over we are back on track to have the barleywine-guzzling, beer-swigging, bagpipe-marching, hootenanny drunkfest that is the GABBF.  

I want to talk about what is appropriate to wear to the this shindig.  First off, dress warm! Today we woke up to -19F degrees outside, here in Anchorage, and that is not a pleasant temperature to be wearing skimpy dresses and no coats. Downright dangerous when waiting curbside for a ride home! Fortunately, there is a coat check at the event, so you can stash your outerwear and emerge from your parka to show off the good looking attire underneath.  Men and women probably want to wear different things, although I am sure Johnathan Van Ness would totally rock a gorgeous beer themed dress to the fest. Beer leggings are probably more for gals than for guys. Lederhosen are traditionally dude wear, and if you have a pair, now is a good time to show off your German heritage.  Of course brewery gear is a  great idea. T-shirts, sweatshirts, ball caps, beanies, brewer button down shirts, and, although most people won’t see it unless you get really really drunk, brewery brand underwear. Yes, Ted at Turnagain Brewing, you should wear your special Turnagain Brewing boxer shorts.  Clark Pelz from Cynosure Brewing wears an elaborate western button up shirt with a hop pattern embroidered on it, he looks very stylish in it.

If you wonder why the rubber chicken is a GABBF staple, then you can read about it here in my previous blogpost. The rubber chicken necklaces are a gift from Phil Farrell, a long time attendant, and BJCP beer judge at the fest.  Pretzel necklaces serve two functions: they look cool and keep with the German vibe, but also feed the hungry beer drinker.  It is important to eat a lot of food when imbibing in as much beer as you probably will drink at this event.  I suggest preloading with greasy, heavy foods that coat your stomach, so you won’t get the spins before the session is over. 

We offer a lot of my artwork on beer themed clothing at our RedBubble site.  We also have two kinds of beer-themed socks available at our booth. Did I mention I will be there selling my art? Have a drink, or three then stop by and visit me! I want to see your cool beer apparel. There just ain’t nothing quite as cool as seeing someone slurping the suds while wearing cool beer duds.  So grab your pretzel necklace, eat some fries, get on down at Dena’ina Center for the big beer and barleywine festival!!!  

Unveiling the Holiday Commissions of 2023

Now that we are through the busy holiday season, and everyone has opened their gifts, it is time to unveil the commissioned paintings that I had the pleasure to make for my patrons’ friends and loved ones. I had to keep them super secret up until now, so as not to spoil the surprise. The studio was abuzz with creativity, especially as the demand for custom paintings peaked in anticipation of Christmas. Successfully delivering each unique piece on time is no small feat, especially when working with the patience-demanding nature of oil paint compared to acrylics. My heartfelt gratitude goes out to all who entrusted me with their artistic visions, both this year and in years past! Collaborating on these projects is always a joy, as you generously share your personal narratives, allowing me to craft timeless paintings that encapsulate those cherished moments. Without further delay, let me present to you the seven commissions brought to life over the past couple of months.

8″x10″, oil on panel

11″x14″, oil on panel

18″x9″, oil on panel

8″x10″, oil on panel

12″x18″, oil on panel

18″x18″, oil on panel

11″x14″, oil on panel

Ten Years Since the “Year of Beer” Project Began!

Can you believe the Year of Beer project happened 10 years ago? For newer readers, here’s a bit of a background. In 2014 I started releasing a new beer painting every day for 365 days, and writing a blog post about each one, and posting them on social media. That project solidified my career as an artist known for beer art. So, now that it’s 2024, I stopped to think about the beer industry now vs. ten years ago, and how the Year of Beer project would be different, if I were to do it now.

In 2014 there were 3,418 registered craft breweries in the United States. In 2024 we have 9,709 – nearly three times as many! In 2014 canning lines were for established breweries and the printed cans were expensive to order, requiring large runs for flagship beers that would meet expectations of sales. Along came the crowler in 2015, and then about eight years ago everyone started packaging beer in fancy pint four packs. The price of beer went up, but so did the quality and quantity. Glass growlers became less favorable; why fill a 64oz bottle when you could have four portable pints that don’t oxidize the way a growler does? Nobody enjoys cleaning growlers. Breweries still have flagship beers, but the options are so much more diverse with one-off hazy IPAs coming out every two weeks with new artistic labels.

The Year of Beer was so successful, because there were popular flagship beers and breweries with a big following. So when I released a painting of Pliny the Elder, Heady Topper, or Spotted Cow, fans of those beers were delighted! Side note, in 2022 Russian River Brewing asked me to stop selling art featuring its beer labels, despite having given me permission to paint live in the taproom in 2016. The project would be possible today, but I feel it would be a lot less successful, since there are simply too many choices available. Flagship beers don’t have such a strong following any more, since there are so many other excellent options that are easier to get. Beer is dramatically more expensive in 2024 than it was in 2014. I actually haven’t bought any beer yet this year, since I stocked up for New Years Eve. In 2014 the average price of a six-pack was around $8, now it’s about $12. And this is for regular shelf beer bought at a liquor retailer. Beer at specialty shops, or at breweries costs more. Patrons don’t blink an eye as they shell out $18 – $24 for a fancy four pack. Meanwhile, Gabe Fletcher of Anchorage Brewing Company finally hit $100 a bottle on Tavour for his world famous barleywine called A Deal with the Devil. In 2014 we used to buy it for 22 bucks for twice as many fluid oz! 

The world is changing, and beer has been elevated to a higher status. People respect the juice of the barley more than they ever did before. New flavorful hops have evolved and beer is an entirely different product than ever before. I feel that Hazy IPA had its heyday a few years ago, and although it will always be a popular brew, west coast IPAs are back in fashion along with the new rage, cold IPA. What threw me for a loop is the gluten fearful people who all feel they should be drinking seltzers. I would rather drink a Natural Ice around a campfire any time over a White Claw.

I will always remember 2014 fondly as one of the best years of my life. I started painting live at breweries that year, met so many wonderful beer lovers all over the world online, and in person. Some of them are still good friends to this day! I traveled to dozens of different breweries, and traded beer with many patrons of beer art. Some breweries even mailed me hoodies, hats, and other fun merch!

There are still a few originals available at my Etsy shop, and prints. Keep in mind that I love to make commissions of your favorite brew. Whether it be macro, micro, craft, home-brewed, or even a wine or a seltzer. Let’s keep enjoying and see where the industry goes! Cheers, and thank you for following my beer art career all these years, and for all your support!

White Raven on Winter Solstice

The biggest celebrity in Anchorage, Alaska this winter in 2023 has been a white raven. The bird has a Facebook page dedicated to sightings of it, with nearly 15,000 members. People post photos of the raven, its location with the date and time, and artists have even started making jewelry, greeting cards, prints, and other beautiful items immortalizing the clever creature. He/she is not shy, appearing on a daily basis in plain sight, mostly around midtown in Anchorage. I happened to see the white raven on Spenard Rd. and Northern Lights Blvd in a big spruce tree while driving around on winter solstice. Seeing a white raven on the darkest day of the year seemed like an omen.

I have many questions about this bird. Why is it white? Are there other white ravens? Is the white color a dominant, or recessive trait? Can other ravens see that he/she is different, and if so, do they treat it differently? Does it know that it’s different? All this mystery, and the novelty of a white raven is what makes this bird so popular. People have been traveling to Anchorage from out-of-state for a chance to see the white raven. I hope you get to see it, because it really does feel special.

I was inspired to paint this oil painting, and decided to release it today on winter solstice. Oil paint on stretched canvas, 24″x18″. The original oil painting, and signed prints are available at my Etsy shop.

White Raven, by Scott Clendaniel, oil on canvas, 24″ x 18″

How to Mail Beer

by Maria Benner

If you are a homebrewer, you may want to mail your beer to share it with close friends, or family who live far away. Or maybe you are a beer nerd who loves to try new releases from other States, and you have trading buddies. There are many reasons why people want to mail beer, and especially during the holidays, because beer is the best gift! So, here is some information about how to mail beer successfully.

Legality of Mailing Beer

Basically, it’s illegal for consumers to mail beer to other consumers. You are breaking the law, so if you decide to mail beer, you’re doing so at your own risk. There are many laws pertaining to various destinations: intrastate, interstate, international, etc. Here is a picture of a letter from the Enforcement Unit Supervisor for the Alaska Alcohol Beverage Control Board, stating that Alaska does not regulate alcoholic beverages imported into the state for personal consumption and not for resale.

UPS: Shippers must possess a valid retailer or brewery license in their home states, and where applicable obtain a license or permit in the destination state. All beer shippers must enter into a UPS Agreement for Approved Beer Shippers.

FedEx: Individuals (consumers) cannot ship alcohol via FedEx. Businesses that hold appropriate alcohol licenses and are enrolled in the FedEx alcohol shipping program may ship to their customers in select states or countries.

USPS: Completely illegal.

How to Pack the Beer

If no one finds out what’s in your box, then are you really breaking the law? Well, yes, but you better hope no one finds out. One way for everyone to find out is if beer starts leaking out of your box. Oops! To prevent your bottles/cans from breaking, I recommend following these steps:

• Pack the beer as if you are mailing raw eggs. Do not take any chances. If your box leaks, the shipping company will immediately throw it away, and the liquid could also damage other peoples’ shipments. Even worse, you may have to face consequences for breaking laws.
  • Use a brand new, sturdy box. If possible, double up boxes.
  • Line the box with bubble wrap.
  • Wrap each beer in several layers of bubble wrap. Obviously, glass is more fragile, and the bottle cap could be knocked off, so take extra care wrapping glass bottles. Tape the bubble wrap so it does not come unwrapped.
  • Place each beer in it’s own Ziploc bag, and seal it. This will prevent leakage if the bottle/can breaks.
  • Then put all the beers in a big plastic bag, place that bag in your box, and tape the bag shut.
  • If there is any empty space in the box, fill it with packing paper, cardboard, bubble wrap, whatever. As long as there is no space for the bottles/cans to move.
  • Seal the box with package sealing tape. Seal all the folds, gaps, corners, etc. Make sure it’s bomb-proof.
  • Put a note inside the box that says “liquid yeast samples”.

Mailing Your Box

Choose the most affordable carrier to ship your box. Mail it as early as possible in the week, so it doesn’t end up in a warehouse during the weekend, or a holiday. Make sure the recipient has the tracking information, so they can receive the box as soon as possible. You don’t want it sitting out in the heat too long. Opt for ground shipping when available, to minimize the chances of bottle caps failing due to pressure changes in airplanes. If anyone asks what’s in the box, say it’s jam, bbq sauce, anything but beer. I know that’s lying, but everyone does it, so that makes it okay, right? Yikes.

Good luck! I hope your box arrives at its destination safely! In the meantime, lobby your lawmakers to legalize mailing beer, so we can all enjoy it no matter where we live!

Cheers!

Mastering the Art of Self-Employment: Productivity Through Our Daily Routine

by Maria Benner

Humans are creatures of habit, but we can use that to our advantage if we develop the right habits. Staying motivated and focused for self-employed people who work from home can be challenging. Scott and I not only live together, but we also work together and work where we live. Scott’s studio is downstairs, and my office is upstairs, so we both have plenty of space, so that’s not an issue. The issue is the temptation to just slack, relax and take a day off whenever we feel like it, like today, during a huge snowstorm. The house is cozy, the snow is beautiful, and we were very tempted to go play in the snow and ditch out on work. I’ll admit that we got a late start to work, because we took time to snow-blow the driveway, and take the snowmachine for a short spin around the snowy neighborhood streets. Then I made French toast for breakfast. After all that we both took a look at our calendar and narrowed our tasks down to just those that absolutely had to be done today, moving everything else to tomorrow, or another day. But what keeps us from doing this regularly? The reality that if we don’t work, we won’t be able to pay bills? Not that, although the thought is always in the back of our minds. The main habit that keeps us from slacking is having a work-day routine. We work Monday to Friday, during regular working hours, and take weekends off, like “normal” people. We keep a calendar of tasks and events that we have to accomplish each day, and if something doesn’t get done on the day it was scheduled to be done, it gets moved to the next day. We know several artists who fall into the bad habit of working late into the night, and sleeping in until late afternoon. Getting any real work done on that type of schedule is just not sustainable. Even worse, and more dangerous is the habit of drinking during the work day, which is a big no-no in our household, even-though Scott is the “beer artist”.

During the work week we stick to a routine that we’ve kept for years. We wake up at a reasonable hour, as if we had to go to work at a 9-5 job. Then we enjoy a cup of coffee while catching up on the news, social media posts, and extending our daily learning streaks on Duolingo, a language-learning app. “Coffee time” can sometimes drag on a bit too long, but the thing that switches my brain from coffee time to “let’s get going with the day” is when I start making the bed. Doing this every day is not only a sign of self-respect, it also triggers the brain to assume responsibility and begin working on daily tasks. Then we both do stretches/yoga and go out for a run. Scott does a 5-mile loop, and I choose one of my three favorite routes of various length. We have to get our workout done first-thing, otherwise we don’t find time for it during the work day, and we don’t like to run in the dark after work. We make smoothies for breakfast, because they are quick to make and pack a lot of nutrition, take showers, get dressed, and start tackling the tasks on the calendar. We take a break for lunch around 1:30pm, then work all afternoon until about 6:00pm.

After work I like to have “Happy Hour” which involves drinking a beer with some salty snacks. Then the evening activities begin such as making dinner, taking a sauna, or going out.

People often wonder how we stay motivated to work for ourselves at home, and in my mind, having this routine and following the calendar is the way we have been doing it for over ten years. This also works for finishing big projects over a long period of time. We just work on it a little bit each day, making the time for it on the calendar, thus fitting it into our work routine.